In Process Podcast

In Process: Conversations about Business in the 21st Century is presented by Trusted Counsel. Business involves constant change and challenges. In Process brings you weekly conversations with business experts on topics to provide new ideas, tools and techniques to help you and your business grow and succeed.

We’ve talked a lot about selling your business. We’ve talked about getting your financials ready. We’ve talked about legal contracts, estate planning, and timing, too. But this week we’re speaking with Darrell Mays, a seasoned entrepreneur and executive who’s been through the process himself. Mays is presently a Senior Vice President MasTec, Inc., and President of MasTec’s wireless division. MasTec is a $4.4 Billion dollar corporation providing end-to-end solutions designing, building, installing, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure in the telecom, energy, and communication industries.

The conversation is a fascinating and inspiring one and it is not to be missed. Listen in the player below or subscribe on iTunes to receive more episodes of In Process delivered directly to your smartphone.

Some of the companies with the most efficient operations are also the ones who have the hardest time growing. It’s a counterintuitive idea, but it’s one that has been supported by research and that serves as the basis for this week’s episode of In Process. Joining us on the show this week are Art Saxby and Beth VanStory of Chief Outsiders.

Selling a business comes with a lot of uncertainties, but while a would-be seller can’t always control which parties are interested in buying, the seller does control the way the business is managed and scaled leading up to the sale—and the way they use their leverage in negotiations. George Shea and Manan Shah discuss the current selling climate, typical exit process, and the importance of a strong management team.

This week, we did something unprecedented on In Process: we talked about law. “The whole point of a transaction is to sell a business, which means that it has to have some fundamental building blocks. A business has to have contracts that protect them from a legal liability standpoint, but also support recurring revenues,” says John Monahon. Stream the conversation for an in-depth discussion on diligence, transaction structures, and the legal documents your company needs to have in place before sale.

We are two episodes into our series of podcasts about what businesses and their chief executives should be thinking about in order to get themselves to a point where they're ready to be sold. This week on In Process, Donna Barwick of Wilmington Trust joins the show to discuss the importance of estate planning. Much like the sale of a business, many entrepreneurs and business leaders don’t make decisions about what will happen to their assets without them until it’s too late.

In Process is picking up with the second episode in a series of podcasts about what businesses and their chief executives should be thinking about in order to get themselves to a point where they're ready to be sold. This week we’re catching up with Peter Baron, founder and senior consultant at Carabiner Communications. When it comes to succession planning, Baron is uniquely qualified to advise his clients: earlier in his career, he founded a company with the express purpose of selling it. Stream the podcast here and subcribe on iTunes for regular updates from In Process.

This week on In Process, we're kicking off a series of podcasts about what businesses and their chief executives should be thinking about in order to get themselves to a point where they're ready to be sold. Joining us to discuss the financial and tax considerations were Raygan Evans, Zack Leder, and David Kloess of Atlanta-based Bennett Thrasher.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is all over the news, and when it comes to innovating and disrupting the workforce, robots have become an increasing part of the conversation. But it’s rare to hear experts sound off on AI moving into white-collar professions. Fortunately, our guest this week is Dan O’Hara, who has been in the software and technology industry for more than 25 years and serves as the Senior VP of Digital Workplace at Avanade. Dan is a thought leader on the use of AI in business—including the concept of a robo-boss—and has recently presented on the topic in various venues as well as experienced the phenomenon for himself during a stint with Uber.

This week on In Process, we sit down with Cindy Cheatham, president of Good Advisors, LLC and former Vice President of Consulting Services for the Georgia Center for Non-Profits, to talk about the rise in social entrepreneurship and the way that affects non-profit and for-profit entities.

Self promotion isn’t an obnoxious habit or a personality flaw—it’s a vital part of building your business. So why is it a topic so many business people avoid? This week on In Process, our hosts Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon catch up with Debby Stone, founder at Novateur Partners and author of The Art of Self Promotion, about the ways we can rewire ourselves to be better self promoters.

This week on In Process, we’re approaching something we all seem to try to tiptoe around: conflict in the workplace. Our hosts Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon of Trusted Counsel are joined by Anne McSorley and Kate Bothwell-Wendel of Workbest Consulting, an Atlanta-based firm that helps companies examine their cultural climate, management and communication style to identify, neutralize and prevent conflicts in the workplace.

This week on In Process, our hosts Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon are joined by Angela and Dennis Buttimer, co-founders of the Atlanta Center for Mindfulness and Wellbeing to discuss developing a mindfulness practice into your daily life to help you enhance you energy, focus and creativity. The couple works with companies, school programs and even hospitals and treatment centers to implement mindfulness and wellbeing practices through yoga and meditation. Everyone benefits from mindfulness practice – it’s not just for yogis anymore!

Hosts Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon of Trusted Counsel are joined by Tom Mall,a financial and operational executive with over two decades of experience, and Kenji Kuramoto, founder of Acuity and AcuityCFO.

“The CFO is acting as quarterback,” says Kuramoto, citing their work not only internally, but with attorneys, CPAs and investment bankers. “When you’re going out to meet [investors],” Mall adds, “you’ve got to make sure that everyone is playing a role and that you look cohesive as a team.”

Join Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon of Trusted Counsel with their guest expert, Master Certified business coach Nan O’Connor, as they discuss how to overcome the “born leader” myth and train newly promoted leaders using tools and processes.

In this episode of In Process, John Monahon and Evelyn Ashley are joined by Zunaira Munir, Senior Expert of the Global Blue Ocean Strategy Network, as Munir breaks down key objectives of Blue Ocean Strategy, explains whether small businesses can implement its principles, and how creativity can be learned.​

What’s your company’s true value? Join Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon of Trusted Counsel (Ashley), LLC with their guest expert, Michael Blake, President of Arpeggio Advisors as they discuss his approach to valuations, including which key questions he asks during an appraisal, how to approach a buy/sell agreement and how financially solvent companies can retain worth.

For more episodes of In Process: Conversations About Business in the 21st Century, subscribe on iTunes or check out the full list of previous recordings here.

How to Harness Skills Service & Strategy Join Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon of Trusted Counsel with their guest experts, R. Eric McCarthey, Chairman of the Board of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors and Michael Parides, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer to technology based companies, as they discuss how directors can make a difference and Chief Executive Officers can manage the Board to a company’s highest and best use.